[GreatDane]

Just as good as Bellingham they say

If we had signed Bellingham we would have had posters saying that he needed several loans and bulking up before they would have given him 5 mins in a secured game.

 

[Trequarista10]

I know some people are joking, but the expectation here is insane. He's played 70 minutes of senior football I believe. It's very very rare for CMs to break through to senior level at a young age. People's desperation is making them lose perspective.

 

[Remember the geese]

I know some people are joking, but the expectation here is insane. He's played 70 minutes of senior football I believe. It's very very rare for CMs to break through to senior level at a young age. People's desperation is making them lose perspective.

No. It isn't desperation. Mainoo is in the minority and is the exception.

 

[city-puma]

I know some people are joking, but the expectation here is insane. He's played 70 minutes of senior football I believe. It's very very rare for CMs to break through to senior level at a young age. People's desperation is making them lose perspective.

Seedorf. Think about that. It is very possible he can make difference. For instance, partnering with Amrabat.

 

[Bastian]

Sorry for the late response.

I'll start with Casemiro first, and his signing made absolute sense as far as the situation ten Hag and Murtough found themselves in after the debacle of the previous regime where they had put together a team over 5 or 6 years that was lacking technically, physically, athletically and even tactically hence we've been a reactive team for far too long. And it's only now that we've made moves to become a more proactive team by moving De Gea on, moving Ronaldo on and breaking the McFred partnership in midfield which was at best a mid-table midfield two that was very mediocre against the opponent's press. And when you have those sorts of problems all over the pitch and the demand from the owners is top 4, and you also sack the head scouts on the eve of the transfer window, then signing Casemiro makes sense because the team is already lacking a lot and is also devoid of leadership. The work experience clubs like Salzburg and Leipzig don't have this issue because the demand their isn't to win the league but rather to develop talent with the help of a very wealthy owner who has also bought 6 other clubs around the world to tap into markets in different continents which give their employees a massive advantage when identifying talent. So what happened previously under Woodward, Judge, Bout, Lawlor and the managers is what has to be worked around to rebuild a team towards a proactive attacking play style that befits Manchester United. And I fully expect the heads of recruitment and the analytics personnel to now take control of recruitment. And when you don't have these people in position with at least a season of scouting and advance analytics under their belt, then the recruitment will be substandard like we saw in the summer window of 2022.

The results thus far haven't been good enough but as far as the direction of travel is concerned, we've made the right decisions as far as attempting to create a team that can exert dominance over the opponent. Unfortunately we've suffered injuries to key players in the first phase but the decisions that were made over the summer were to improve our build up play by signing Onana, Amrabat and introducing Kobbie Mainoo. And they also decided that they needed to beef up the pressing from the front which is why Mount was signed imo because he's more agile out of possession in comparison to Bruno and his game in possession is more mature and very team oriented. And the striker Hojlund for me again was another good signing who will score goals once we rectify our problems in the build up phase. Because a weak first phase will have a knock on effect on the players occupying positions higher up the pitch. If the opponent's high pressure tactics cause our back-line problems in possession, then you've lost control of the game.

And what ten Hag is saying is absolutely correct and we can never play that brand of football with the players he's currently got at his disposal. But the moves and decisions that were made over the summer, were ones that do show that they're working on creating a team to build play from the back and press high in a compact block. And there was strong indications that they wanted to sign Todibo and Amadou Onana in the summer as well. And we do need those types of players to raise the technical, physical and athletic levels of the team because our biggest issue imo once everyone is fit and available, is that we lack the ability to control the game out of possession in large spaces. I think the funds should be made available in the January transfer window to beef up the team (posted below) out of possession. The team has capability in possesion but having a player like Amadou Onana or even Lucas Gourna-Douath would really help us control defensive transitions.

Arsenal under Arteta and Edu finished 8th, 8th and 5th. Arsenal fans were livid and couldn't believe how both men were still in a job. But as long as the project makes sense, then you have to keep faith with the rebuild in a league which is being dominated by a team bank rolled by a nation state.

The team below is where it's at for us going forward and the team potentially provides a good foundation going into future transfer windows. Zlatan recently said in a interview with Piers Morgan that there's certain teams who start a project and when the results go wild they then abandon the project. I think it's important not to abandon the project and add to the strong elements in the team below by taking away the weaker elements via the transfer window.


---------------------Hojlund-------------------
--Rashford---Mount---Bruno---Dalot--
-----------Mainoo-------Amrabat-------------
------Shaw----Martinez----Varane---------
----------------------Onana---------------

Top post as always mate.

I'm curious to see how next summer turns out with player ins and outs. What do you make of this:



Is this guy reliable? Bruno is obviously a top player in the right setup, but I do think he is generally a hindrance for how ETH wants to play even though he made him captain. Saudi could also mean a decent fee that would go back into strengthening the team.

I hope you're right in terms of the recruitment team being given authority hence forth. They should already be in the process of sounding out possibilities for the defence in January.

Back to topic: How long is Mainoo tied down for at United? Is there any substance to those City rumours?

 

[Ish]

Not sure if it was in the transfer tweets section - not sure how reliable either, but read a few tweets about City trying to lure Mainoo back to the Etihad - more than once (apparently spent some time there as a youth?). Probably shows his level of talent.

 

[RedC]

Top post as always mate.

I'm curious to see how next summer turns out with player ins and outs. What do you make of this:



Is this guy reliable? Bruno is obviously a top player in the right setup, but I do think he is generally a hindrance for how ETH wants to play even though he made him captain. Saudi could also mean a decent fee that would go back into strengthening the team.

I hope you're right in terms of the recruitment team being given authority hence forth. They should already be in the process of sounding out possibilities for the defence in January.

Back to topic: How long is Mainoo tied down for at United? Is there any substance to those City rumours?

Did you just post a rumour of Fernandes going to the Saudi league and genuinely ask if it was reliable

 

[Bastian]

Did you just post a rumour of Fernandes going to the Saudi league and genuinely ask if it was reliable

I asked if the journalist has a credible background, yes. I've no idea. Glad to have given you a chuckle mate, you're welcome.

 

[RedC]

I asked if the journalist has a credible background, yes. I've no idea. Glad to have given you a chuckle mate, you're welcome.

I reckon you could just give common sense a go on that one.

 

[gajender]

Top post as always mate.

I'm curious to see how next summer turns out with player ins and outs. What do you make of this:



Is this guy reliable? Bruno is obviously a top player in the right setup, but I do think he is generally a hindrance for how ETH wants to play even though he made him captain. Saudi could also mean a decent fee that would go back into strengthening the team.

I hope you're right in terms of the recruitment team being given authority hence forth. They should already be in the process of sounding out possibilities for the defence in January.

Back to topic: How long is Mainoo tied down for at United? Is there any substance to those City rumours?

I also like to answer that irrespective of whether there is any substance to Bruno to Saudi rumours or not , ideally United need to move on Bruno come Summer or atleast ensure he isn't regular feature in the team if We genuinely have any notion of once again becoming the Club that competes for highest honours and that should be the case regardless of Who we have incharge as manager .

And Mainoo is definitely not moving to City he just recently signed a contract till 2027 with another year option as well .

 

[Bastian]

I reckon you could just give common sense a go on that one.

Thanks for your advice. I'll make sure to apply it in my life. Very helpful mate, really.

I also like to answer that irrespective of whether there is any substance to Bruno to Saudi rumours or not , ideally United need to move on Bruno come Summer or atleast ensure he isn't regular feature in the team if We genuinely have any notion of once again becoming the Club that competes for highest honours and that should be the case regardless of Who we have incharge as manager .

And Mainoo is definitely not moving to City he just recently signed a contract till 2027 with another year option as well .

Fantastic. Didn't know that.

 

[Acrobat7]

I know some people are joking, but the expectation here is insane. He's played 70 minutes of senior football I believe. It's very very rare for CMs to break through to senior level at a young age. People's desperation is making them lose perspective.

As a non United follower it is highly confusing. I have never heard of this guy but some are acting as if he'd solve all your problems. That poor kid!

 

[Chesterlestreet]

It's very very rare for CMs to break through to senior level at a young age. People's desperation is making them lose perspective.

Probably true.

But still. Couldn't hurt to give him some minutes.

I mean, that's what you do: give 'em a chance. If an 18 year old CM fails to impress over a couple of matches, you conclude it was too early, but worth a try.

Our midfield is - frankly - shit. Ideally, a promising kid shouldn't be thrown into something like that.

But then again, maybe he's ready for it. It would hardly be unprecedented.

For me, if I were ETH, I'd very much go for it. He's got very little to lose, I suspect.

 

[TheReligion]

As a non United follower it is highly confusing. I have never heard of this guy but some are acting as if he'd solve all your problems. That poor kid!

I doubt you would have heard of him then.

That said it depends how much you follow youth football as he’s highly rated amongst journalists as one of the worlds teenagers to watch in the future.

 

[RedC]

Thanks for your advice. I'll make sure to apply it in my life. Very helpful mate, really.

No problem at all.

 

[Acrobat7]

I doubt you would have heard of him then.

That said it depends how much you follow youth football as he’s highly rated amongst journalists as one of the worlds teenagers to watch in the future.

Thanks mate, that is fair.
I randomly sorted players on Transfermarkt and when I went with U18 and central midfield he was 24th in "market value".

 

[TheReligion]

And for those worrying about City.. don’t;

“[My ambition is] to stay around it and to keep on getting more games is the ultimate goal. I want to stay at this club, I’ve been here my whole life.”

https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...n=continue_reading_button#amp-readmore-target

 

[Nick7]

Thanks mate, that is fair.
I randomly sorted players on Transfermarkt and when I went with U18 and central midfield he was 24th in "market value".

To be fair, transfer markt market values are mostly bollocks! But yeah this kid ain’t going to sort our problems out any time soon, but he’s a very talented young player and if he makes the step up he’ll gives us something different in midfield to what he currently have.

 

[Rozay]

What's he shown to suggest he's quality? He played well for a kid in some friendlies. Sancho is pacey and creative in friendlies btw. But what's he shown in competitive football? Nothing.

Believe it or not, he’s kicked a ball even before those friendlies.

 

[Rozay]

Top post as always mate.

I'm curious to see how next summer turns out with player ins and outs. What do you make of this:



Is this guy reliable? Bruno is obviously a top player in the right setup, but I do think he is generally a hindrance for how ETH wants to play even though he made him captain. Saudi could also mean a decent fee that would go back into strengthening the team.

I hope you're right in terms of the recruitment team being given authority hence forth. They should already be in the process of sounding out possibilities for the defence in January.

Back to topic: How long is Mainoo tied down for at United? Is there any substance to those City rumours?

I think this is more of a case of ‘how we want Ten Hag to want us to play’ than anything else. Since he joined, even before he joined actually, I’ve been reading about how every non-possession oriented player can’t play ‘Ten Hag’s football’. Are we watching Ten Hag’s football?

I also thought that Bruno and McTominay would struggle, but the fact is, this nonsense seems to be Ten Hag’s football of choice, and any other football that may suit, say, Bernardo Silva or even a Billy Gilmour seems to exist solely in our imaginations. We’ve been done by Ajax and we need to realise that we haven’t gotten a coach with the principles that we initially thought/hoped we were getting. Perhaps if Ten Hag was Scottish or something it would be easier to see his philosophy for what it is. The only thing retaining any mystique is that he is Dutch and used to manage Ajax.

 

[gaffs]

I know some people are joking, but the expectation here is insane. He's played 70 minutes of senior football I believe. It's very very rare for CMs to break through to senior level at a young age. People's desperation is making them lose perspective.

I believe so too.

I have seen bits of him in the 18s and on pre-season and he looks legit, but people are talking about him like he is Jude Bellingham.

We will see over the next couple of months.

 

[Unam333]

Sorry for the late response.

I'll start with Casemiro first, and his signing made absolute sense as far as the situation ten Hag and Murtough found themselves in after the debacle of the previous regime where they had put together a team over 5 or 6 years that was lacking technically, physically, athletically and even tactically hence we've been a reactive team for far too long. And it's only now that we've made moves to become a more proactive team by moving De Gea on, moving Ronaldo on and breaking the McFred partnership in midfield which was at best a mid-table midfield two that was very mediocre against the opponent's press. And when you have those sorts of problems all over the pitch and the demand from the owners is top 4, and you also sack the head scouts on the eve of the transfer window, then signing Casemiro makes sense because the team is already lacking a lot and is also devoid of leadership. The work experience clubs like Salzburg and Leipzig don't have this issue because the demand their isn't to win the league but rather to develop talent with the help of a very wealthy owner who has also bought 6 other clubs around the world to tap into markets in different continents which give their employees a massive advantage when identifying talent. So what happened previously under Woodward, Judge, Bout, Lawlor and the managers is what has to be worked around to rebuild a team towards a proactive attacking play style that befits Manchester United. And I fully expect the heads of recruitment and the analytics personnel to now take control of recruitment. And when you don't have these people in position with at least a season of scouting and advance analytics under their belt, then the recruitment will be substandard like we saw in the summer window of 2022.

The results thus far haven't been good enough but as far as the direction of travel is concerned, we've made the right decisions as far as attempting to create a team that can exert dominance over the opponent. Unfortunately we've suffered injuries to key players in the first phase but the decisions that were made over the summer were to improve our build up play by signing Onana, Amrabat and introducing Kobbie Mainoo. And they also decided that they needed to beef up the pressing from the front which is why Mount was signed imo because he's more agile out of possession in comparison to Bruno and his game in possession is more mature and very team oriented. And the striker Hojlund for me again was another good signing who will score goals once we rectify our problems in the build up phase. Because a weak first phase will have a knock on effect on the players occupying positions higher up the pitch. If the opponent's high pressure tactics cause our back-line problems in possession, then you've lost control of the game.

And what ten Hag is saying is absolutely correct and we can never play that brand of football with the players he's currently got at his disposal. But the moves and decisions that were made over the summer, were ones that do show that they're working on creating a team to build play from the back and press high in a compact block. And there was strong indications that they wanted to sign Todibo and Amadou Onana in the summer as well. And we do need those types of players to raise the technical, physical and athletic levels of the team because our biggest issue imo once everyone is fit and available, is that we lack the ability to control the game out of possession in large spaces. I think the funds should be made available in the January transfer window to beef up the team (posted below) out of possession. The team has capability in possesion but having a player like Amadou Onana or even Lucas Gourna-Douath would really help us control defensive transitions.

Arsenal under Arteta and Edu finished 8th, 8th and 5th. Arsenal fans were livid and couldn't believe how both men were still in a job. But as long as the project makes sense, then you have to keep faith with the rebuild in a league which is being dominated by a team bank rolled by a nation state.

The team below is where it's at for us going forward and the team potentially provides a good foundation going into future transfer windows. Zlatan recently said in a interview with Piers Morgan that there's certain teams who start a project and when the results go wild they then abandon the project. I think it's important not to abandon the project and add to the strong elements in the team below by taking away the weaker elements via the transfer window.


---------------------Hojlund-------------------
--Rashford---Mount---Bruno---Dalot--
-----------Mainoo-------Amrabat-------------
------Shaw----Martinez----Varane---------
----------------------Onana---------------

Very insightful. I agree with you. Try not to abandon the project. Give it a go. The manager is here for a reason.

 

[RedSky]

I know some people are joking, but the expectation here is insane. He's played 70 minutes of senior football I believe. It's very very rare for CMs to break through to senior level at a young age. People's desperation is making them lose perspective.

It's always happened with our young players. One after another they're the answer to our problems only for them to play senior football and they get ripped to pieces by our fans. I feel for the lad.

 

[Eric_the_Red99]

No. It isn't desperation. Mainoo is in the minority and is the exception.

Found Kobbie Mainoo's burner account. Or possibly his mum's.

 

[Rozay]

The team below is where it's at for us going forward and the team potentially provides a good foundation going into future transfer windows. Zlatan recently said in a interview with Piers Morgan that there's certain teams who start a project and when the results go wild they then abandon the project. I think it's important not to abandon the project and add to the strong elements in the team below by taking away the weaker elements via the transfer window.


---------------------Hojlund-------------------
--Rashford---Mount---Bruno---Dalot--
-----------Mainoo-------Amrabat-------------
------Shaw----Martinez----Varane---------
----------------------Onana---------------

The problem is that the ‘weaker elements’ are about half of that team (and counting, maybe, if Mainoo and Hojlund don’t turn out as hoped). That team already has our £85m winger removed from it. Our £55m midfielder may well be following too, and there are long term question marks about all of the rest with the exception of Shaw and Martinez really. I admire your optimism but you seem to be creating some sort of ‘everything is on track’ sort of narrative, but it’s more an ‘everything is on track, we just need to change most of the players’ one to me.

 

[BluesJr]

Hopefully he can teach Bruno about football.

 

[Remember the geese]

Found Kobbie Mainoo's burner account. Or possibly his mum's.

Found another really funny post. Or possibly not.

 

[Stadjer]

As a non United follower it is highly confusing. I have never heard of this guy but some are acting as if he'd solve all your problems. That poor kid!

Dont worry. Even for someone who follows the player and knows about the player i find it highly confusing. Central midfielder is one the hardest positions to break through for young players. Breaking through as a CM in a bad team even harder. Mainoo is talented and could very well up being a very good CM but the expectations some here put on him are unrealistic and unfair. When Mainoo isnt performing to the unrealistic expectations he will be labeled as flop and fraud in no time.

Personally im hoping for the best but certainly not expecting anything major of him this season.

 

[Loon]

is he set to get a start now? I've not really seen him, so want to see what you guys are saying about him.

 

[Leftback99]

is he set to get a start now? I've not really seen him, so want to see what you guys are saying about him.

He's got no chance of starting this side of Christmas unless we get some more injuries.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Sorry for the late response.

I'll start with Casemiro first, and his signing made absolute sense as far as the situation ten Hag and Murtough found themselves in after the debacle of the previous regime where they had put together a team over 5 or 6 years that was lacking technically, physically, athletically and even tactically hence we've been a reactive team for far too long. And it's only now that we've made moves to become a more proactive team by moving De Gea on, moving Ronaldo on and breaking the McFred partnership in midfield which was at best a mid-table midfield two that was very mediocre against the opponent's press. And when you have those sorts of problems all over the pitch and the demand from the owners is top 4, and you also sack the head scouts on the eve of the transfer window, then signing Casemiro makes sense because the team is already lacking a lot and is also devoid of leadership. The work experience clubs like Salzburg and Leipzig don't have this issue because the demand their isn't to win the league but rather to develop talent with the help of a very wealthy owner who has also bought 6 other clubs around the world to tap into markets in different continents which give their employees a massive advantage when identifying talent. So what happened previously under Woodward, Judge, Bout, Lawlor and the managers is what has to be worked around to rebuild a team towards a proactive attacking play style that befits Manchester United. And I fully expect the heads of recruitment and the analytics personnel to now take control of recruitment. And when you don't have these people in position with at least a season of scouting and advance analytics under their belt, then the recruitment will be substandard like we saw in the summer window of 2022.

The results thus far haven't been good enough but as far as the direction of travel is concerned, we've made the right decisions as far as attempting to create a team that can exert dominance over the opponent. Unfortunately we've suffered injuries to key players in the first phase but the decisions that were made over the summer were to improve our build up play by signing Onana, Amrabat and introducing Kobbie Mainoo. And they also decided that they needed to beef up the pressing from the front which is why Mount was signed imo because he's more agile out of possession in comparison to Bruno and his game in possession is more mature and very team oriented. And the striker Hojlund for me again was another good signing who will score goals once we rectify our problems in the build up phase. Because a weak first phase will have a knock on effect on the players occupying positions higher up the pitch. If the opponent's high pressure tactics cause our back-line problems in possession, then you've lost control of the game.

And what ten Hag is saying is absolutely correct and we can never play that brand of football with the players he's currently got at his disposal. But the moves and decisions that were made over the summer, were ones that do show that they're working on creating a team to build play from the back and press high in a compact block. And there was strong indications that they wanted to sign Todibo and Amadou Onana in the summer as well. And we do need those types of players to raise the technical, physical and athletic levels of the team because our biggest issue imo once everyone is fit and available, is that we lack the ability to control the game out of possession in large spaces. I think the funds should be made available in the January transfer window to beef up the team (posted below) out of possession. The team has capability in possesion but having a player like Amadou Onana or even Lucas Gourna-Douath would really help us control defensive transitions.

Arsenal under Arteta and Edu finished 8th, 8th and 5th. Arsenal fans were livid and couldn't believe how both men were still in a job. But as long as the project makes sense, then you have to keep faith with the rebuild in a league which is being dominated by a team bank rolled by a nation state.

The team below is where it's at for us going forward and the team potentially provides a good foundation going into future transfer windows. Zlatan recently said in a interview with Piers Morgan that there's certain teams who start a project and when the results go wild they then abandon the project. I think it's important not to abandon the project and add to the strong elements in the team below by taking away the weaker elements via the transfer window.


---------------------Hojlund-------------------
--Rashford---Mount---Bruno---Dalot--
-----------Mainoo-------Amrabat-------------
------Shaw----Martinez----Varane---------
----------------------Onana---------------

That’s a very odd formation. Is Rashford playing as a… wing back?

 

[calodo2003]

32 pages

 

[bosnian_red]

That’s a very odd formation. Is Rashford playing as a… wing back?

It's that city thing where you write the formation based on what they do in possession rather than out of possession. In reality, it's Bruno on the right drifting in, dalot alone on the right flank, and Mainoo next to Amrabat and a backline that's always injured...

 

[Adnan]

That’s a very odd formation. Is Rashford playing as a… wing back?

It's not odd at all, it's a formation widely adopted by coaching staff who aim to play the game in the opponent's half. So in that particular formation a back 4 turns into a back 3 with Dalot providing width and Shaw tucking in to form a back 3 in a 3241 shape. So a 4231 changes to a 3241 just by tweaking the fullback positions.

 

[RuudTom83]

Ideally you would share the load between Mainoo and Casemiro, with the ratio increasing as Casemiro gets older.

This season 25% Mainoo, next season 50% with him taking over full time the season after next.

 

[Crashoutcassius]

Probably true.

But still. Couldn't hurt to give him some minutes.

I mean, that's what you do: give 'em a chance. If an 18 year old CM fails to impress over a couple of matches, you conclude it was too early, but worth a try.

Our midfield is - frankly - shit. Ideally, a promising kid shouldn't be thrown into something like that.

But then again, maybe he's ready for it. It would hardly be unprecedented.

For me, if I were ETH, I'd very much go for it. He's got very little to lose, I suspect.

the team is playing shit. but we have one of the greatest defensive mids of all time, who is 31, the most creative player in the league and some other decent options in centre mid. we aren't playing this way because of personnel.

 

[Adnan]

The problem is that the ‘weaker elements’ are about half of that team (and counting, maybe, if Mainoo and Hojlund don’t turn out as hoped). That team already has our £85m winger removed from it. Our £55m midfielder may well be following too, and there are long term question marks about all of the rest with the exception of Shaw and Martinez really. I admire your optimism but you seem to be creating some sort of ‘everything is on track’ sort of narrative, but it’s more an ‘everything is on track, we just need to change most of the players’ one to me.

I can only give you my opinion based on the decisions that were made in the summer by the club when they signed players, introduced a young player and pursued players who they tried signing but couldn't sign for different reasons. So with the new heads of recruitment having had a season of scouting under their belt backed up by the analytics teams led by Dominic Jordan (data) and Mick Court (video). The plan was to sign the players below according to reports from reliable sources but we couldn't move certain players on due to their wages. And unlike at Arsenal, where Josh Kroenke has played a active role in moving players on, we can't expect Joel Glazer to do the same and hence me as a supporter of the club, I have to be patient because I can finally see a direction of travel, which I couldn't see previously.

Hojlund, Mount, Kim Min Jae (backup Todibo), Maignan (back up Onana, Verbruggen) and Amadou Onana was the window for us. But if Maguire and Mctominay don't want to leave then signing Kim, Amadou Onana or Todibo isn't going to be possible. But the people on the football side of the club tried moving both Maguire and Mctominay towards a new club hence we made a late approach for Amadou Onana and had Todibo as the target if Maguire could agree on a exit. The moves they've made and attempted to make, clearly point towards developing a team to play a more proactive, attacking style of play by building play from the back, pressing high out of possession and controlling the opponent's fast breaks in rest defense with players like Todibo and Amadou Onana who can control the game out of possession when the space opens up for the opposition to counter quickly.

Erik ten Hag has seemingly made the decision to integrate Kobbie Mainoo into the team as a deeper lying midfielder and it doesn't seem to have gone down well with some fans. Does it mean that Mainoo will 'save us'?. No he can't save us on his own but his inclusion into the team points towards integrating a player who fits the profile of midfielder that is needed to develop a play style that ten Hag is clearly working towards developing imo. Casemiro is/was a world class midfielder with his work out of possession but he was never a world class midfielder in possession hence Modric and Kroos took control of the build up phase in possession. Mainoo is closer to what Modric and Kroos provided Madrid in midfield and that's what we lack. And ten Hag has made the decision to integrate Mainoo into the team, which was evident during the preseason tour. Of course we don't know how things will go with Mainoo and the tweet below sums that up perfectly. But ten Hag has made the decision to integrate the young lad and ten Hag sees the player on a regular basis during games and in training to make a better assessment than most people.



And unless you think the decision to integrate Mainoo, sign Amrabat, Mount and Onana with attempts to sign Amadou Onana and Kim Min Jae (Todibo) are moves to play a direct game, then I have to disagree because signing those players and developing Mainoo points towards looking to dominate the ball. But ten Hag suffered a big setback with injuries to Martinez, Shaw and Mainoo who are either our best players in the build up phase (Shaw, Martinez) or potentially our most press resistant midfielder in Mainoo. And this has been a disaster and hence imo ten Hag is going direct with McTominay playing because he's a obvious target for the direct ball. I'm confident Mount will play more often once you have the aforementioned players back because the direct game doesn't suit him and neither does it suit Amrabat or Onana in goal.

EtH is clearly developing the team to dominate the ball but when you're missing players through injury then it's important to aim for substance rather than style or you end up like Peter Bosz or Ronald de Boer who carried on persevering with their philosophies with players who just weren't comfortable playing out from the back and ended up getting sacked quickly. So it's important to get the results and work on developing the team towards a preferred style of play in the mid to long-term. He's currently in a precarious position imo and if he can manoeuvre the team towards a decent finish and survive in his position, then he's in a great position to turn things around quickly because the CB and midfield positions are open for improvement. Lindelof, Maguire, Casemiro and McTominay are easily upgraded on imo.

 

[Ali Dia]

32 pages

Bless us all and save me He does look potentially classy but he’s going to need a lot of games and trust to develop. This is what we need to decide about our whole approach going forward. I feel like if we can get 7 psycho workers and put 4 real top class young players with them: we are back in the game, or at least a lot more back than we are currently anyway

current issue is still as always too many disillusioned players and shite owners/facilities. Nobody can understand what we are trying to build because there’s no real fight or plan. Most of our players rarely give good ROI with some horrific financial waste as everyone knows about! it’s great to be a case study in shite

 

[Adnan]

Top post as always mate.

I'm curious to see how next summer turns out with player ins and outs. What do you make of this:



Is this guy reliable? Bruno is obviously a top player in the right setup, but I do think he is generally a hindrance for how ETH wants to play even though he made him captain. Saudi could also mean a decent fee that would go back into strengthening the team.

I hope you're right in terms of the recruitment team being given authority hence forth. They should already be in the process of sounding out possibilities for the defence in January.

Back to topic: How long is Mainoo tied down for at United? Is there any substance to those City rumours?

The journo isn't reliable at all mate.

And regarding Mainoo, the chance for City to sign him was when he was playing in the academy. And it seems Mainoo and his family rebuffed their advances and chose to stay at United, and according to what I've read online, Mainoo has a contract until 2027.

 

[Wrecking ralf]

i’d actually love to see him, Pellestri, Garnacho, Amad, Hannibal play prominent roles for the rest of the season. I’m sure they will at the bare minimum put effort in and listen to instructions. Worst is they arent good enough but can earn a move somewhere else like Elanga and best case is they turn out to be good players to keep in the squad

Amad will show his worth when he comes back. Got a good feeling for him this year, just a shame he had a setback early in the season. Watched him a lot last year at Sunderland. Was just a level above in most games. If he’s allowed and stays fit he’ll make that right side his own